Impact
Together with the other indicators under SDG 14, it will form a picture of marine activity giving countries intelligence on optimum levels of fishing, aquaculture expansion and fair and secure access to living aquatic resources.
Key results
While progress has been made towards combatting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, a more concerted effort is needed.
Between 2018 and 2022, the average global degree of implementation of international instruments aimed at combatting IUU fishing as measured by SDG Indicator 14.6.1 increased from 3 to 4 (out of a maximum score of 5). Countries have made good overall progress: nearly 75 percent of countries scored highly in 2022, compared to 70 percent in 2018. SIDS, which are faced with specific challenges in fully implementing these instruments due to the large amounts of waters under their jurisdiction, also registered an improvement: from a medium level of implementation in 2018 and 2020 to a high level in 2022. In LDCs, which also face challenges in implementing these instruments, implementation has remained at a medium level from 2018 through to 2022. Most other regions have either remained at the same level of implementation or improved, the exception being sub-Saharan Africa.
A combined reading of the regional results suggests that while improvements are being made, further efforts are needed to implement the relevant international instruments and fully exploit their potential to combat IUU fishing.